I don't think I can do this....

Which is precisely why I chose to do it in the first place!

I have been to see the biomechanics coach.

After sitting and bringing him up to speed on my current issues and a potted history of past ailments the assessment began.  A mixture of visual observations and strength tests to find out which muscle groups were working correctly (or not!) he has concluded that my pelvis is out of alignment and as a first step I have to work on loosening the muscles on the outside edge of my lower legs as these are stopping muscles further up my legs from being able to work properly! There is also work to be done on my foot as things are not quite as they should be after breaking my toe. With all new ventures into 'alternative' therapies there is always a slight doubt in the back of my mind as to whether the therapy will work, or if the therapist really knows what they are talking about.  However as so much of what Chris said made sense I am hopeful that both the therapy will work AND he knows what he is talking about!  He asked at one point if I splash mud up the insides of my legs when I run as my heels turn in a way they aren't supposed to.. errr I don't run when it's wet or muddy but my dogs still need walking so my wellies confirm this to be the case! 

I also have to drink water - lots of it! 1 litre per 50lbs of body weight plus an extra litre because I'm active! When I came home and worked out the maths I was aghast to find this equates to over 3 litres a day, disbelieving and a quick google search later not only is this correct, but it will also make me look 10 years younger in months time (allegedly) - I'll let you know how that one goes!

Today was exactly what I wanted when I decided to train for a marathon - thank you Lesley for answering my call for help! I knew that something wasn't right and I needed the impetus to do something about it.

There is no way in my current state I could run a marathon - I am neither physically strong nor mentally disciplined enough. Which is what makes it the perfect challenge.

I have been to too many therapists in the past, received enough relief from whatever symptoms took me there in the first place to lose interest and stop going, until my next whim takes me somewhere else.  I spend too much of my time being hopelessly inefficient because it doesn't matter what I manage to achieve as there is always tomorrow to do the stuff I should have done today.  

To be able to run 26 miles I will have to see this course of therapy through.  To find time to do the exercises and train I will have to become more disciplined and organised.
Win Win (I may need reminding of this!)

My journey of 1000 miles is also a bit like a thousand piece jigsaw - I haven't even begun to sort them into any sort of order yet, let alone start to put it together, but I'm getting close to knowing that all the pieces are there and finding the corner ones that will hold it all together.

M - 741

Distance covered               3 miles (walk)

Total distance covered  35.2 miles

Toothpaste and Geese

A day without any semblance of order!

A Facebook friend of mine recently posted the following 

“Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated”.

I am a million miles from being either obsessed or dedicated, two school runs in (after a fortnight off) and I’m knackered!

The only drawback to Al doing the majority of cooking and supermarket shopping whilst on holiday (but it is something I am absolutely prepared to put up with Mr L), is that once he returns to work I have no idea what food there is in the house and consequently what we need from the supermarket. Clearly I should have written a list yesterday but hey I had a birthday to celebrate!

So I set off this morning without any idea as to what we needed, wandered around somewhat aimlessly selecting things at random and headed to the till. £1.50 short of the required spend for a petrol voucher, I smiled apologetically at the other shoppers queuing behind me and ran to get a second tube of toothpaste, only to discover on my return to the till it was on buy on get one free! Aaarrgghh! Four tubes of toothpaste later and with a bag of groceries that even the most proficient celebrity chef on Ready Steady Cook would have found challenging I made my way home.

A fairly chaotic day followed where I dashed about seemingly doing lots but achieving nothing! This is not the focused woman with her finger on the pulse that I have been envisaging! Instead of fit, healthy, energetic, focused, motivated, and maybe even driven - every fiber of my being wanted to be asleep! Guilt forced me to resist the temptation of a wee nap, but was there any way I could justify a few minutes on the bench in the sunshine with my eyes closed? 

Breathing exercises! (I may not be fit, healthy, energetic, focused, motivated and driven (yet!) - but don't ever question my creative thinking skills!)

Apparently I'll run better if I practice deep breathing which involves pulling my belly in on my out breath and relaxing it as I inhale. Sounds simple but I can't do it! Well I can but it takes a lot of concentration, attempting to do it whilst running is near on impossible and renders me even shorter of breath and looking like some kind of lycra clad Arabian dancer! On further investigation my book says I should not to attempt to do this whilst running until I've mastered the technique, which in turns means I'm going to have to practise - a lot. And whilst I don't believe it was what Al was doing last week when he was sitting in front of the snooker with his eyes closed, I have a feeling it might be what he claims next time he's caught having an afternoon snooze! After all what's good for the goose...

M - 742
Distance covered               3 miles (damn you 5x50!)
Total distance covered  32.2 miles

Transition

A double whammy!

You may be forgiven for thinking that I only have one son, as the youngest has yet to receive anything but the most fleeting of mentions.  There are three good reasons for this.

1. He doesn't run.
2. He doesn't read my blog.
3. He doesn't like to leave his bedroom during the holidays!

But today it's all change as school reopens and it's time for him to leave the media centre that was once just a bedroom.  It is, what is affectionately known in our house as, onesie wash day!

Because Al is a teacher, either everyone's home, or no one is, and I struggle with the transition between the two. 

Added to which today is my birthday.

I find birthdays a bit like New Year, I'm supposed to look forward to them, but in truth they usually make me feel a bit melancholy.  I try to enjoy them, but when your mind is an introspective as mine it isn't long before I'm spending the day ruminating about where I'm at, and where I thought I would be and how on earth did I get to be 44?!  (A true joy to live with, and a nightmare to buy presents for!)

Without the boys and at risk of being engulfed by impending birthday blues it was time to either sink or swim. Can't expect to run a marathon if an empty house and my birthday is enough to throw me off track! Time to try a different tack. So I put on my new shoes (yes I finally found some), threw the box away (instead of storing it for a year just in case it comes in handy) and arranged for my friend to come and walk the dog with me.

A glorious spring day we spent most of the morning putting the world to rights, before settling down on the garden bench to pontificate about what age we would like to go back to, whether we would take the knowledge we had now back with us, what our lives would be like if we'd made different decisions and how, if we did go back in time, would we manage to navigate our lives back to the point we're at now? Which is when it hit me...

There is no part of my present life that I would be prepared to trade for a different past.

I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

I've had a lovely day, and thoroughly enjoyed the fact that it was my birthday! Good company this morning, cards, gifts and FB messages to remind me how lucky I am to have such wonderful friends, a very funny phone call with my sister, time sat in the garden and a lovely meal with Al and the boys...

For the first time in a long time I have banished the birthday blues.

What my friend doesn't know is that when she gave birth to her son 17 years ago today, I was in a ward on the floor above awaiting surgery to remove an ovarian cyst. We didn't know each other, we had no idea that we would meet a little over 16 years later, we would have scoffed at the idea that we would be runners!
And yet here we are, and here is a good place.

M - 743
Distance covered                 3 miles (walk)
Total distance covered    29.2 miles

26.2 miles - Job Done!

If Saturday mornings = parkrun, then Sunday mornings = Facebook!

For several years now I have been fighting against the infiltration of our family by social media!
I get that the boys would rather be talking to their friends, and that following what other Arsenal supporters are saying on Twitter during Match of the Day is far more engaging for Al than listening to the sound of me snoring on the sofa next to him, before I finally find the energy to get up and go to bed!   But I also get the importance of spending time together without interruption from the outside world, and have been heard on more than one occasion to say "Talk to me, I'm here in person!" and other such choice (and equally annoying) phrases!

As a consequence of which Sunday mornings have become my guilt free pleasure! Up early to feed the dogs , whilst the rest of the family sleep, I can happily spend an hour or so chatting across Facebook with the other early birds! It has been a system that worked well for me.. still in touch with my friends and the snapshots of their lives they are choosing to share, yet still able to maintain my much treasured moral high ground with the rest of the family. But it seems change is afoot...

Firstly on upgrading to an iphone (how have my children got more disposable income than me?!) C very kindly gave me his old ipod touch, and at last I have joined the rest of them in having a mobile device capable of logging onto the internet, which in turn means I may have to concede that part of my anti-Twitter stance was because I had to go into the other room and fire up the pc to access the outside world! Now I have it at my fingertips I find myself looking for new places to hide to secretly check my emails and FB notifications ,as it can come as no surprise to hear that all three boys are taking great delight in catching me, whilst exclaiming - "Talk to me! I'm here in person!"-  hmmm what goes around comes around....

Secondly, this morning I forwent my opportunity to catch up with my sis and other Sunday morningers to go for a run! I'm sorry and  I'd like to say it won't happen again, but I have a feeling it might! (Have literally just received a text to say that sisterofmarthongirl750 took advantage of my absence and also went out for a run... what's happening to us?! Is this because I told you it was 3 weeks until Edinburgh when it's actually 4?! oops!)

So there we have it.... the end of my first week as a blogger and trainee marathon runner! It's been a good start, I'm enjoying it, I've had both words of encouragement for my run and positive feedback on my blog. There is a long road ahead of us but we're a week and more importantly 26.2 miles in! YES I've done it! I HAVE RUN/WALKED MY FIRST MARATHON! And it only took me 7 days!!

M-744
Distance covered            4.6 miles
Total distance covered 26.2 miles!!!!!

 

Go hard or go home!

Marathon girl on fire! (thanks for the subheading Helen)

Saturday mornings have become synonymous with parkrun in our house, and I love it!
So it was somewhat unusual to find myself feeling a little nervous this morning -
perhaps it was the thought of seeing everyone for the first time since starting this blog?

I talk too loudly, occasionally (?!) say odd things, and have the remnants of a Scottish accent, as a result of which I have never been exactly inconspicuous in a line of up mainly West Yorkshire runners (although to be fair I'm not sure where I would be inconspicuous!). But it was a peculiar feeling arriving this morning knowing that people had been keeping up with my week on line (and whilst I am chuffed to bits that so many of you are reading this, I do find it a little strange that I don't know exactly who you are!).

I needn't have worried.  Parkrun was what parkrun always is!

New runners welcomed, Maurice the Border Terrier congratulated on his 50th run, it was time for the off and away we went!

I have a sneaking suspicion that when I go for my assessment on Wednesday the advice is not going to be - run as fast as you can, really push yourself up those hills, and plough on ignoring any feedback to the contrary from your legs! So today was my last chance for a while to see what I could really do!

24 minutes and 12 seconds later I found out....
A new PB knocking 19 seconds off my previous best! Whoooo hoooo!!!

Al also had a good run, taking 29 seconds off his PB and making it onto the Fastest 500 Finishers at Dewsbury list! :)

We're fond of a statistic in our house (admittedly they are usually football related and of little interest to me) but running stats are a different matter! Fortunately I am clearly not alone as the parkrun results page is awash with them! 

I do however appreciate that they don't make for particularly interesting reading and I will refrain from sharing with you every Saturday (phew!) but allow me a little indulgence today!

In looking up the Fastest 500 Finishers, I stumbled across the Age Graded League - where age and gender are taken into account as well as finishing time.  So whilst C can run the course almost a minute faster than me, and Al is less than half a minute behind, when age and gender are factored in I am 186 places ahead of C, and 303 ahead of Al. Read it and weep boys! Read it and weep!

And if that isn't enough to entice my eldest out of his bed next Saturday and back into his trainers then nothing will!

M-745
Distance covered                3 miles
Total distance covered   21.6 miles

A change of perspective

I weigh myself in pounds and ounces, I visualise height in feet and inches, I run in kilometers -
They pass quicker and I can run more of them.

So it is somewhat reluctantly that, in an attempt to subtly change my mindset away from that of a 5K runner (especially as I have a 10K race to run in May!) I have switched my Garmin to measure the distance travelled in miles.

My training for this race has been somewhat sporadic, and am blaming my current aches and pains on running too far too soon (as opposed to quickly!).  With only three weeks to race day I fear it may be too late to instigate a training program that will have any effect whatsoever, but having taken the distance I was running back down to 3 miles, I am trying at least to increase the distance in smaller increments.

Keen not to get caught out and end up running further than planned, I have been checking the distance of potential new runs in advance, but am clearly having difficulty in relating how far I think a route should be with the reality of how far it actually is!

There is a circuit that I've wanted to run for a long time but has previously fallen into the "imagine being able to run that far" category - today it moved into the "I wonder how far that is" category....

7 miles!! How can something so far only be 7 miles?! What on earth am I doing thinking I can run 26.2?

It feels inconceivable, but then again not so long ago so did the 7 mile route!

So I need to change my perspective, focus on what I can do and not worry about what I can't (ha! ha! just a small change then!)
When I do run those 7 miles it will be the furthest I have ever run and that will be a good day!


PS Thank you Lesley in putting me in touch with Chris a biomechanics coach - appointment booked for next week.

Note to all Dewsbury parkrunners... Weight loss willpower does not apply to post parkrun flapjack!

M-746
Distance covered             3 miles (walk)
Total distance covered   18.6 miles

Suit shopping with my son -

the perfect mental preparation!

Whilst I am happy to spend many hours looking for and purchasing things online - I think it's over a year since I last went shopping. I don't do it. My eldest does it even less.

So our trip into Leeds today in search of a suit for him to wear to the Prom was going to take us both out of our comfort zones! A bit like standing on the starting line at the start of a race, we entered the suit shop a mix of excitement and anxiety not quite knowing what to expect.  After the initial few minutes where we stumbled along not really feeling in control as it all kind of happened around us, we soon settled into our stride and the process became almost pleasant as we sailed towards the first milestone and the exhilaration of making a purchase spurring us on.  However by the time we reached Debenhams and the make-up department (a post suit purchase reward for me, not to complete C's look!) it was much more like a Saturday morning at parkrun - C desperate to set off at his own pace, me wanting to go a lot slower! It was time to go our separate ways and C was dispatched off to Schuh leaving me to browse in peace. By the time we met back up we were both approaching 'the wall' and the thought of stopping off at Sports Direct and Ikea on the way home more than enough to make us want to give up, but we dug deep, offering support to each other along the way (I did Sports Direct, C went to get the meatballs) and together we did it! We made it home in just under 4 hours, tired yet euphoric! 

Filled with optimism having survived this morning, Al, Dougal and I set off for a run this afternoon. A new route so I could stretch the distance up a notch, it felt good to be running on new roads. I've loved running with Al since he started again in November, accompanying him on his early trips round Crow Nest Park until I felt confident that he wouldn't stop if I left him! But today if it hadn't been for Dougal pulling up when I got too far behind they would have left me at about the half way point, and anyone who knows me will know that I'm way too competitive to let that happen!  But I can't run downhill without my knees hurting.  So here is it, my first call for help! Why do my knees hurt and what can I do about it? (although I have a horrid suspicion it might involve lunges and squats :( perhaps I'll let Al beat me after all!)

M -747

Distance covered            4.6 miles

Total distance covered  15.6 miles

A journey of a thousand miles begins with....

new shoes!

Over the days building up to my decision to run I decided that I needed to look after my feet!

The grateful recipient of the parkrun monthly prize draw in October my running shoes have (at least for the time being) been taken care of.  What I need is shoes to walk the dog in and sandals that I can walk in (current pairs either being too high or Birkenstocks that won't stay on my feet without me curling my toes - which is now outlawed).

So I hit the internet....

Perhaps warning bells should have begun to ring earlier when I spotted that one of the websites also sold a brand favoured by my mother (yes sisterofmarathongirl750 I really should have known better!).  But blinded by my desire for comfortable shoes I carried on regardless - only to have to return the parcel to the post office this afternoon!

How can a pair of shoes age someone so quickly? The beauty of it being that on their removal I felt instantly younger! The quest for comfy yet somehow still a little funky footwear continues!

In the meantime, I was delighted to learn earlier today that there is a more correct translation from the original Chinese that says "The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet".
Rather than emphasising the first step, Lau Tzu regarded action as something that arises naturally from stillness. 

So if I sit on the sofa long enough......

M - 748
Distance covered            3 miles (walk)
Total distance covered  11 miles

PS fellow parkrunners committing to their first half marathon next year now up to 4 :)

Response

It became apparent at half five this morning, that deciding to run a marathon and then deciding to go public with that decision was not conducive to a good night's sleep!

Having slept OK, I then woke early to doubts, questions and anxieties churning around in my mind... and the realisation that on similar mornings in the future I'll find myself getting up and going running!

Having made the momentous decision to hit 'post' yesterday the information was out there - all I could do was sit and wait for the responses to come in - but first I had to tell the boys.

After the initial 'cool' and 'yeah' they soon reverted to type - C asking questions about when so he could set a count down timer on his phone (no doubt to goad me with when he catches me in the kitchen eating some contraband cake!) and then calculating that I only have to increase each run by 50m to reach the target! H pretty quickly got to the crux of the matter as far as he was concerned - will I have to come and watch?!

The responses from FB friends have been both encouraging and supportive and whilst all are welcome, the fact that some of you have run marathons yourselves, seen me run and are STILL saying I can do it have been the most welcome comments of all!

Add to this the fab news that I will be joined by at least one fellow parkrunner at a half marathon along the way and it would appear that I am well and truly up and running...

And I actually put my trainers on today and went for run along the Greenway with Al and Dougal! A kilometre further than we would have usually done by way of a token gesture to my commitment and fuelled by a new found awareness of eliminating my aches and pains I started taking note of the camber - the transformation has begun!

M - 749
Distance covered            4 miles
Total Distance Covered  8 miles

M - 750

April 2016 - our eldest will be about to sit his A Level's, our youngest his GCSE's, and I will be running a marathon!

So today is M minus 750 (the approximate number of days I'm allowing myself for training!).   I know as much about running a marathon as I do about writing a blog... it's going to be a steep learning curve!

Currently I can run 5K, anything beyond this and my knees, ankles, shins and (previously broken yet never quite mended properly) toe start complaining.  Clearly I have issues with my gait to sort out!

And appreciating that this will be as much a mental struggle as a physical battle I have decided to start with a test of will power rather than a training schedule! First job is to lose the half stone that crept on after Christmas - good job I devoured my Easter Eggs yesterday!

Currently in the middle of the 2014 5x50 challenge, I haven't even run today - but I've spent a lot of time thinking about it! Talking over my decision with Al whilst walking the dogs in the woods, I came home filled with optimism and commitment to my decision to run. With every word I type the doubts creep in more til they are practically screaming at me over the stupidity of my decision, not only am I unsure as to whether I can run, but can I maintain this blog over the next two years? I guess only time will tell.

So here goes...
I have no idea at this moment in time if I am going to be able to do this, whether the issues I experience whilst running will be overcome, whether mentally I will be able to cope with the rigours of training, but I'm going to give it my best shot, and if it comes to it - I'll walk!

M-750
Distance covered - 4 miles (walk)